Save the Swords Ambulance

Delta 134 the Swords Dublin Fire Brigade Ambulance is in danger of being taken out of service due to budget cuts and the HSE not paying their bills. This ambulance covers a very large area of Dublin and its loss would be a matter of life and death!

For the most up-to-date information on the Swords Ambulance click the link below for the "Save the Swords Ambulance" below

2011

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2010

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8 out of the 12 Dublin Fire Brigade Ambulances were caught up in the Mater hospital before Christmas due to lack of beds for the patients. This left 4 Ambulances to cover the entire Dublin Area.

I called Ambulance but was told to drive myself

A Dublin man who suffered a serious injury at his home was told there was no Ambulance available to take him to hospital. Patrick May (27) lay in agony at his home in Poppintree, Ballymun, for almost an hour before being told to make his own way to hospital.

Patrick's father, Paddy, now wants to know why an Ambulance was not sent to their home. "I looked at my son's face and I could see he was in agony. He was in tears because his injury was so sore. I couldn't help but think he was going to die, I was frightened," he said.

"I just cant get over the fact I was told that no Ambulance would be coming. I know the Emergency Services work extremely hard but when we needed their help, it wasn't available," he added. Patrick sustained a ruptured hernia while playing football in the garden.

He felt a sharp pain in his groin before feeling like his stomach was "on fire". 2Nobody knew what was wrong with me and i was just begging for an Ambulance to come. I haven't cried for years but the pain was just so bad," he said.

"All the information was given to the Emergency Services and yet they still sent nobody out. I just want to know why i wasn't given the right to an Ambulance," he added. After almost an hour, Patrick's girlfriend rushed to the house to drive him to Beaumont Hospital where he stayed until the early hours of Wednesday morning.

A spokesman for the Dublin Fire Brigade said the 12 Ambulances covering the city had been "too busy" to attend. He added "The Eastern Regional Control Centre operates a medical priority dispatch system which assigns Emergency Ambulances on a priority based system".

"When all 12 Emergency Ambulances are busy, calls are then queued using this system and Ambulances are dispatched on a highest priority basis". The incident comes just weeks after a man lay collapsed on a street in Drogheda, Co. Louth, for an half-an-hour as no Ambulances where available.

Peter Sherlock (52) died on the way to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in the back of a van owned by a passer-by on May 26th. The HSE confirmed no Ambulances were available to attend the call.